CONGO, REPUBLIC OF THE

Photo by: Stephen Finn

COUNTRY OVERVIEW

LOCATION AND SIZE.

The Republic of the Congo (ROC) is located in Western Africa and has an
area of 342,000 square kilometers (132,000 square miles). It has a
modest coastline of 169 kilometers (105 miles) along the Atlantic Ocean
in the southwest and shares land borders with Gabon, Cameroon, and the
Central African Republic on the west and north. The country is sometimes
referred to casually as simply Congo or the Congo, or even Congo
Brazzaville, to designate that it is the Congo with Brazzaville as its
capital, distinguishing it from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (or
Congo Kinshasa), which has its capital at Kinshasa. The Democratic
Republic of the Congo lies along Congo's eastern border, with Angola's
Cabinda Province sharing a small section of the southeastern border. The
Congo is slightly smaller than Montana. The capital city of Brazzaville
is located in the southeast of the country, directly across the Congo
River from Kinshasa.

POPULATION.

Congo's population was 2,830,961 and growing at an annual rate of 2.23
percent annually in 2000. The birth rate and the death rate in 2000 were
estimated at 38.61 and 16.35 per 1,000 population, respectively. Life
expectancy in Congo is only about 47 years of age, with women living to
age 50 and men on average to age 44. One contributing factor to this
short life span is the AIDS epidemic, which has in recent years swept
across much of sub-Saharan Africa (that part of the African continent
that is south of the Sahara desert).

The Congo is one of the most urbanized countries in Africa. Eighty-five
percent of the population lives in Brazzaville, Pointe-Noire, or one of
the smaller cities found along the railway which connects Brazzaville
and Point-Noire. The official language is French. However, there are
many dialects spoken in the Congo of which Lingala and Monokutuba are
the most widely spoken.

The population of the Congo is made up of 4 major ethnic groups: the
Kongo, the M'Bochi, the Sangha, and the Teke. Only 12,000 pygmies (or
the Baka people, a collection of tribes who dwell in African forests in
the region occupied by Congo and its neighbors) remain in the country.

INDUSTRY

MANUFACTURING.

The Congo's manufacturing sector plays a small role in the economy,
consisting of around 100 factories in Brazzaville and Pointe Noire,
mostly engaged in the processing of agricultural and forest products.
There are a number of companies engaged in manufacturing
import-substitution
products such as footwear, soft drinks, chemicals, cement, and
metal-working products. The less significant sectors of the
manufacturing industry produce textiles, footwear, cement, and soap.

OIL.

Oil is Congo's main export and the major support for a faltering
economy. In 1998, the Congo exported more than 257,000 barrels of oil
daily, and petroleum comprises some 50 percent of exports. In
sub-Saharan Africa, the Congo is the fourth-largest oil producer, and
has an estimated 1.5 billion barrels in reserve.

In 1994, the Congo took steps to
deregulate
the oil industry by offering production-sharing agreements with major
foreign oil companies. This initiative is intended to regularize the
flow of income to the government. Despite these steps, declining oil
prices in 1998 badly hurt the Congo's economy. The French oil company
Elf-Aquitaine, which accounts for 70 percent of Congo's annual oil
production, is the major producer, along with the Italian oil firm Agip,
and Chevron and Exxon from the United States. Rising worldwide oil
prices in 2001, together with new discoveries and production, are
expected to increase export revenues in the coming years.

OTHER INDUSTRIES.

The Congo has the third-largest natural gas reserves in sub-Saharan
Africa, estimated at over 3 trillion cubic feet. As of 2001, however,
there was no development of a natural gas industry. The Congo has
substantial reserves of copper, lead, zinc, gold, and platinum, but
these metals are mined in small quantities.

CAPITAL:

Brazzaville.

MONETARY UNIT:

Communauté Financiére Africaine franc (CFA Fr). The CFA
franc is tied to the French franc at an exchange rate of CFA Fr50 to
Fr1. One CFA franc equals 100 centimes. There are coins of 5, 10, 50,
100, and 500 CFA francs, and notes of 500, 1,000, 2,000, 5,000, and
10,000 CFA francs.

CHIEF EXPORTS:

Petroleum, tropical and other woods, diamonds, sugar, coffee, and cocoa.